With the threat of improvised explosive devices and similar explosives encountered in various combat situations throughout the world, combat and tactical vehicles are presently only providing limited protection for the troops using the vehicles. The solution to this problem is add-on armor kits. The add-on armor kits are required to improve the ballistic protection of the vehicle occupants. The known method to increase armor protection is to mount the add-on armor kits directly to the exterior of the vehicle. To effect this, the exterior of the vehicles is modified by welding or installing add-on armor mounting provisions. Mounting the add-on armor kits directly to the vehicle limits the add-on armor packages to the exact configuration of the vehicle mounting devices. Such add-on armor kits are disadvantageously limited to use in a specific location on the specific type of vehicle for which the kit is designed.
The add-on armor kit for U.S. and foreign vehicles is usually mounted to the vehicle with welded studs on the exterior of the armor vehicle. Vehicles such as the U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle use slide rails which are mounted to the bolt pattern on the exterior of the vehicle. This add-on armor provides the base vehicle with improved ballistic protection. However, a specific type of add-on armor kit or add-on armor modules must be designed solely to interface with the particular vehicle mounting provision. As noted above, these kits are not interchangeable with other kits which have different mounting provisions. As depicted in prior FIG. 1, presently virtually all combat vehicles with add-on armor kits have the armor kit mounted directly to the vehicles structure using a stand-off weld stud, bolt-on spacer, or guard rails. This limits the armor application to the specific add-on armor kit designed for the specific mounting provision.
Additionally, it is noted that the add-on armor kits for certain vehicles have significant spaces between various armor modules that make up the kit. Such spaces reduce the amount of protection available to the occupants of the vehicle. Further, the prior art add-on armor kits expose the means of mounting the various modules of the armor kit to the vehicle to the blast effect of munitions directed at the vehicle. And, there is no electrical communication provided by the mounting means between adjacent modules.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved add-on armor for today's fighting vehicles.